Call for tutorial on how to implement xbox live acheivement, its possible right?

#1 XNA doesn't allow for achievements. You could implement your own, homegrown achievement system, but you cannot add to your gamerscore.

#2 Exactly, Achievements are not supported in XNA. I think they are concerned that games would give out achievements to freely and then someone could too easily rack'em up.

John K.
www.envygames.com

#3 @John:

Yeah, cuz there are no disc-based games that hand 'em out like candy ;)

#4 Supposedly you get that library when you buy their developer license. Which you have to have in order to create games and distribute them via DVD.

#5 Only Xbox Live Arcade games have support for Xbox Achievements (Xbox Live Arcade != Xbox Community), to be able play when offline, and some other features. You can however implement your own, but for the sake of clarity, it is probably better to use another term such as "Trophies" or something like that.

#6 I see, its a shame, but understandable. It'd be cool if they had them, but they didn't add to your gamerscore, but it would show that you did stuff in that game. O well, life goes on.

#7 True, but I was thinking about a game called AchievementZilla, where every button press adds 20 points to your gamer score. I think it also ties into their player match algorithm and they don't want that to be screwed up. So, I say, make your own achievement system. Find your own special way to reward the player as they play your game. Maybe earning special abilities or new weapons - but clearly communicating that this is a reward... maybe you can even find a sound similar to that "blink" achievement unlocked sound. ;)

John K.
www.envygames.com

#8 I'm sure AchievementZilla would sell like hotcakes.

I'm going to agree with John, if you want achievements make your own system. That said, achievements are really meaningless. What makes them cool is that other people can see them and that they can be used as a sort of measuring stick. With a home brewed achievement system only people using the same Xbox would be able to see your achievements. For me this makes them ... well I don't really care about them.

Case in point: Mega Man 9 on the Wii has achievements but does anyone really care? I don't so that's how I made my decision about implementing achievements.

Now something I that I think would be cool is to lobby the XNA folks at Microsoft for a separate XMLCG achievement system. It could work exactly the same as the normal achievement system but it would be restricted to Community Games and would only show up if you play CGs.

#9 So, there's the quick answer: creators.xna.com/en-US/faq#anchor_2_36

Or, I forgot which one of these presentations it was in, but they do have an API that can be enabled for XNA games to be sold in the Xbox Live Arcade that does have achievements enabled. Of course you still have to go through certification and all that but you could eventually give out achievements if your game makes it to Xbox Live Arcade. www.xnagamefest.com/presentations08.htm#XNA_GAME_STUDIO_

Oh, and I do recommend checking out the networking presentation. Gives you a whole new level of respect for any network game that can make you forget that you're playing online.